Glad You Came Back
by IVIX
Summary: AU. It had been two years since the split, Jackie is now a hot-shot actress. Her life is going as good as she'll ever imagine but there was one thing that bothered her: Catherine. Jackie missed the tall blonde, despite everything that she did to hurt Jackie.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Glad You Came Back  
><strong>Pairing: <strong>Jackie Kirk/Catherine Stark  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Bloomington  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T (For now)  
><strong>Summary: <strong>It had been two years since the split, Jackie is now a hot-shot actress. Her life is going as good as she'll ever imagine but there was one thing that bothered her: Catherine. Jackie missed the tall blonde and despite everything that she did to hurt her, she wanted to see her one more time.  
><strong>AN:** This is partially AU, when Jacqueline left Catherine's house after the fighting incident and the 'Saturn' incident, she packed her bags and went back to LA. **They did not make up and the horrible ending in the movie does not exist in this universe.** It's a little long for a prologue, I'm sorry but I hope you guys like it. Give me your feedback and I'll do my best to fill your and mine unsatisfied fantasy! Enjoy. 

**Prologue**

It had been two years; two years since she moved from Bloomington to Los Angeles. This was everything she had dreamt of; her movie "Neptune 26" was a major hit. Her role as Tyler, the older version of her previous outbreak brought her to a new level of stardom. She got a new manager, Taye Trek, which she was grateful for. If it wasn't for Taye, she would have been completely overwhelmed with all the offers that multiple films and TV shows had given her. She felt like she had everything she's desired, yet she felt so empty.

Jacqueline Kirk stood outside of her newest movie shooting lot, shifting from foot to foot, waiting anxiously for her ride to arrive. She had huge sunglasses that covered most of her face, her blonde hair had grown over the time, she had to trim it for some of the movies she was casted in, but she never seemed to be able to cut it short. She glanced around her before settling her gaze onto the ocean nearby. It was gorgeous, the sun shine brightly above the sky, giving the blue ocean a vibrant glow. Her daydream was cut short by the sound of a car approaching. She looked back and recognized the limo; she let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding and walked slowly towards the approaching vehicle.

A man dressed in a black suit rushed out of the driver seat and opened the door, Jacqueline nodded before entering the car. The door was shut and the man was back in the driver's seat.

"I am so sorry Ms. Kirk... There was-" The man began to explain his tardiness to the young blonde in the backseat but was cut short.

"It's okay Jon, just go." Jacqueline shrugged it off, desperate to want to get back to her villa and have a relaxing bath after all those days living in her trailer on the lot.

Jon gave Jacqueline an apologizing look from the rear-view mirror before driving off to the destination.

Jacqueline looked outside of the tinted mirror; the traffic in Los Angeles was not bad, she sighed when she saw people flashes by her window, everything was on fast forward, just like her life. She wanted to pause, she wanted to live a moment and savour it. Slowly, she drifted off back to when she was still in Bloomington.

_The giant automatic gate slides open, she stood anxiously beside Catherine, hoping that she will like her present. They were never official, well in her mind, Catherine was her girlfriend, the woman that she liked a lot, loved even. Shifting from one foot to the other, she bit her lower lip and walked behind Catherine to release her from the blindfold. She placed her hands around Catherine's shoulder and diverted her sight to the airplane. She looked up and observed Catherine's reaction, hoping desperately that she won't freak out. She tilted her head slightly, worried that if she had pushed too far, after all Catherine's parents died in a plane crash. She took a deep breath and took Catherine's hand in hers and guided her towards the parked plane._

"_All right, co-pilot Stark; let's get started on our checklist." She turned around facing the taller blonde, she grinned at the fidgeting woman._

"_What checklist...?" Catherine asked uncertainly, her voice faltered a little._

"_Come on, I'll show you." She began to list out all the necessities that one should check before any flight takes place._

_After flying Catherine around the plain, they were both exhausted from this trip. When they reached Catherine's house, they changed out of their clothes into comfortable sleeping wear and lay on the bed. Jacqueline lied beside Catherine, she closed her eyes, trying to record everything that happened today in her mental diary. All the loving gaze that she got from Catherine, all the teasing comments she made to Catherine when she flew the plane too low causing her to scream; they were all precious moments for her. She felt Catherine shifting beside her, and then she heard the most loving thing anyone had ever said to her._

"_Hey, are you asleep?" Jacqueline pondered for a moment whether she should answer or pretend she's asleep. She decided on the latter._

"_This was the best birthday ever. I like it so much when you're here." She fought the grin that was trying to come out, there was a pause. She felt Catherine's gaze on her, she wanted to open her eyes and looked into those brown eyes that she adored. She fought the urge and tried to remain as still as possible. It was a good thing that she was an actress, or she would have been ratted out a long time ago._

"_I love you..." Catherine's voice was filled with love, care and desire. Jacqueline felt her heart melt at the sound of the confession. She wanted to stop pretending to be asleep and say it back, she wanted to hold Catherine in her arms and never let go. But it was the sadness and desperation in her voice that made her held back the urge to take her in her arms._

Suddenly, Jacqueline felt the car come to a stop. She snapped out of her reverie, it had been a long time since she thought about Catherine. She took a deep breath before releasing it in a long sigh. She looked outside of the black-tinted windows; they were back at her villa and Catherine was gone. She shook her head and stepped out of the door. She walked up to the porch and into her house. She dropped her sunglasses at the nearest countertop and dropped her keys into a bowl. She threw her handbag on the couch and ran her fingers through her blonde hair.

She was desperately in need of a bath, a scalding hot bath.

After an hour of relaxing in her bathtub, she walked out with a set of comfortable clothes before sitting on her queen sized bed. She looked around her room, it was a familiar place for her, yet it didn't felt at home.

She walked down the spiral staircase back to the living room and took her cell phone out of her purse. She settled on the couch and scrolled down to Taye's name and dialled his number.

"Hey Jacks, what's up?" Jacqueline paused for a moment, thinking whether her decision would be smart or not.

"Hey Taye, I need you to do me a favour."

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Since I just finished shooting the newest season for my TV show, I was wondering if you can push off any interviews or gatherings for a week or two."

"Hm... Yeah I could do that, but why?"

"I want a mini vacation; enjoy my youth while I still have it." She said with a little humour, knowing that it would be impossible for her to do anything without the media knowing nowadays.

"Yeah, where are you planning on going?" She knew where she wanted to go; she wanted to go back to that warm embrace, to those beautiful brown eyes that seemed to know everything about her.

"Bloomington." She said softly, it was a place of good and bad memories.

After confirming all the necessary information and telling Taye to organize the trip for her, she hung up and flopped down onto her couch. She couldn't help but feel giddy, she felt like she was going to college for the first time. She felt butterflies in her stomach when she thought of Catherine, of her soft kisses and the loving touch that she never seems to get enough.

Jacqueline stood in the crowded IIA; she had her sunglasses to cover most of her face, her hat where she managed to hide some of her blonde hair but there was nothing to hide her enormous grin. She looked around the airport before walked towards the terminal where her designated driver for the trip awaits her arrival.

A man in a black suit similar to Jon was holding up a sign with her name, she walked towards the man. The only thing that was different from him and Jon was the stern look behind the black shades. Jon was caring man, he would often give words of comfort to Jacqueline when she felt down or completely spent from a long day at work.

"My name is Richard and I will be your designated driver for the whole duration of your trip Ms. Kirk." Richard's voice was stern and emotionless, it was complete business. He took the suitcase from Jacqueline's hands and led her to the awaiting car.

Jacqueline did not want the media's attention while she was in Bloomington, but she knew it was impossible. She saw a couple paps with cameras while passing through the airport parking lot, she sighed and got into the town car that she'll be riding for the next two weeks.

On the road to her new town house, she recognized the familiar routes that led to her college, and all the places that she and Catherine went on their spare time.

She wanted to see Catherine, she needed to see Catherine. She turned her head from the window to the driver's seat.

"Richard, take me to the College of Arts and Sciences." She said firmly. Richard glanced back at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Of course, miss."

Outside the window, she saw the familiar houses and trees. It was the same route she took when she first arrived to Bloomington. As the car approaches the familiar school, she started to fidget on her seat.

'What if she doesn't teach there anymore? What if she's gone? What if she left Bloomington?' there were so many questions that popped into Jacqueline's mind. It was going overdrive, the sensation was overwhelming, and she wanted to stop the car.

It seemed like her wishes came true for a second, the car stopped. She took a deep breath, thanking all the holy beings, but when she looked outside of her window to see why exactly had they stopped, she swore out loud.

"Fuck no." Before she could take it back, she saw Richard's eyebrow twitching and a slight tug on his thin lips.

Jacqueline looked out of the window and panic started to settle in once again, she was hyperventilating. She couldn't do it, what if Catherine moved on, she couldn't bare the thoughts of seeing Catherine in someone else's arms.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear her car door open, Richard was no longer in the driver's seat, but instead, he was pulling her into his embrace.

"Calm down miss, deep breaths." He holds her and softly rubbed her back. Jacqueline listened to Richard's steady breathing and slowly her breathing pattern returned to normal. She took a deep breath and exhaled, her heart beat was no longer trying to burst out of her chest.

She didn't realize she was gripping on Richard's suit until she released her grip, she lift her sight and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Thank you." She said softly, she felt like Richard wasn't such a hardcore man after all.

Richard released his hold onto the young blonde and gave Jacqueline his own smile.

"Would you like me to accompany you into the school, miss?"

Jacqueline paused for a moment; did she really want to go into the school? Was she ready to face Catherine or the disappointment that is bound to happen?

"...Yes, please. And call me Jackie, no need for formalities when you will be stuck with a brat like me for the next two weeks." She grinned at the aged man and stepped outside of the car.

She took a few steps towards the familiar pathway before looking back, she expected emptiness but instead, Richard was following right behind her with a stern look but his eyes were soften when he met her gaze.

Jacqueline nodded and turned her head back towards the edifice; she huffed out a breath and walked. This was the reason why she came back, she wanted this and she simply couldn't back down now.

She pushed open the familiar double doors and walked towards the main office. Slowly, she dragged her trembling legs towards the counter, followed closely by Richard. The receptionist looked up from her computer screen and gave Jacqueline a confused frown before it was replaced by a business-like smile.

"How can I help you today?"

"Um..." She stuttered, well words don't seem to like her very much right now.

"Cat-Catherine... Is she... Stark..." She mumbled and stuttered on her words, her heart was beating at a rapid pace and she doesn't seem like she could formulate a coherent sentence. She whips her head towards Richard, giving him a pleading look.

"We were wondering if Ms Catherine Stark is available at the moment." Richard caught the pleading look from Jacqueline and replied to the receptionist in a formal tone.

The woman raised an eyebrow at Jacqueline and glanced back and forth between Richard and Jacqueline. Well, who wouldn't be suspicious of a woman wearing glasses as big as her face and a man in a black suit with shades? She coughed into her fist and checked her computer schedule for the requested professor.

"Ms. Stark should be in a lecture right now, you could wait in her office if you would like. Her lecture should be over soon."

Jacqueline was still recovering from the overdrive and the panic that is settling in quickly when Richard guided her towards a more than familiar office. She felt Richard's hand on her back; it was the second time she made a fool out of herself in front of people she didn't know. She glanced at Richard at the corner of her eyes, she thanked him quietly when he met her gaze, and in return he nodded.

Richard pushed open the door and let Jacqueline enters before following behind her. She sat down in one of the leather chairs and looked around the room. It was like how she left, everything was in the same place. Her glance landed on a particular device. It was the famous ECT machine, circa 1940.

_Jackie was leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for the professor to end the previous lecture so she could enter the classroom. Students were walking down the hallway, some left lingering glances on her, some simply walked away without acknowledging her existence._

_It was then that she saw a woman with a huge pile of books turned the corner, fumbling around the books in attempt to unlock the door. Jackie pushed herself off the wall and walked towards the professor._

"_Here, let me help you with these." She took half of the heavy books off of the woman's hold._

"_Thanks." The tall professor pushed open the door and Jackie followed after her, she placed the books on the bureau and looked around the room._

"_It is funny how these people can afford tuition but not manners."_

"_So I've heard." She walks towards the shelves on the other side of the room. Her eyes land on a particular device under an old clock._

"_Is this a projector or a camera?" She asked, keeping her eyes on the machine, tempted to touch but afraid._

"_Sorry?" She turned her head back to the professor that is now standing near the drop down windows._

"_This." She shifted to the side to show the taller woman what she was referring to._

"_Oh, neither. It's an ECT machine, circa 1940." There was a hint of proud in her tone._

"_So it's like a prop?" She diverted her attention back to the wooden device._

"_No... It's the real thing."_

"_Cool. Where did you get it?"_

"_I stole it." The answer was short; there was a hint of humour in the way she replied. Jackie turned around and saw the professor grinning._

"_ECT huh? Is it for recording something?" She traced the wooden outline with her fingers._

"_No, it's for shocking people." Jackie retracted her hands and inspected her fingers, as if reassuring herself if she had gotten shock or not._

_The professor began to explain the function of the device, Jackie felt terrified when she said she haven't used it in a while. She shifted her eyes back and forth between the machine and the tall blonde, not knowing what exactly she should say. She nodded and glanced at the door, she needed to get out of there, and fast._

"_Okay, I gotta go to class now." She grinned nervously, glancing at the door; she was trying really hard not to rush out of the room right there and then. The professor cocked an eyebrow at her and nodded._

"_Have fun." She smiled, nodding towards the door._

"_O...Okay." Jackie nodded and walked out of the room as fast as she could without running._

_It was the first time she ever engaged in a conversation with the professor, she had a weird tugging in her stomach when the tall blonde stood in front of her; she could smell her perfume and for some weird reason, a small part of her wanted to stay in that room._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise coming from the door, she whipped her head around and saw a figure standing at the doorway, struggling with a pile of books. To her regret, it wasn't Catherine. It was Professor Hecht. Jacqueline motioned at Richard to help out the professor with his load, Professor Hecht sighed in relief.

"Oh thank you." Richard gave him a short nod, after settling the boxes on the bureau, he returned to Jackie's side.

"Professor Hecht." Jacqueline smiled and greeted the man who used to be her dean.

"Ah! Ms. Kirk, how are you doing? What are you doing here?"

"I was visiting, I-" Her explanation was cut short when she noticed a tall blonde woman walking in behind Professor Hecht.

She was wearing a black blouse and pencil skirt, it was the same outfit she wore on the first day they met, but instead of having her hair up, Catherine had her hair loose and curled. Jacqueline gave Catherine an onceover before settling her eyes on the pools of brown. She felt her lips tugging upwards; she was trying to resist the goofy grin. There she was, in all her glory, Catherine Stark, the woman who captured her heart ever since the first time they set eyes on each other. It had been so long; Jacqueline thought to herself, it had been too long since she had seen those eyes, touch those lips or run her fingers through the long blonde hair.

"Jacqueline...?" Oh how much she missed that voice simply saying her name. She swooned a little but knew that it was neither the place nor time. She wanted to call her by her name, she wanted to take her into her arms, she wanted to do everything to Catherine but instead she settled for a smile.

"Hello Ms Stark." Catherine glanced at Richard and the back to Jacqueline before looking at Professor Hecht.

"Thank you for bringing me the files Professor." She smiled politely at the Dean, Professor Hecht returned the smile.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. It's a pleasure to see you again Ms. Kirk." With that said, he was out of the door.

Catherine walked towards the other end of the bureau and sat on her chair, not once did her sight left the short blonde. The atmosphere was thick, the tension was heavy and no one was speaking. Jacqueline couldn't find it in her to look at Catherine; she knew she would drown in those brown orbs if she were to ever look into them right now. That was simply too much for her, she wanted to see Catherine but when she walked into the room, all the pain that she had one caused her came flooding back in.

"So... You're back in town." Catherine said softly, her gaze still lingers on the petit blonde that is trying to shrink herself into the leather armchair.

The silky voice was just too much, Jacqueline wants to take Catherine on her desk right there and then, but at the same time, she wanted to burst out crying and yell at her for all the pain she caused.

"Take me home Richard..." She whispered softly, so softly that if Richard wasn't focusing on her, he wouldn't have heard the demand. He took a hold of her elbow and gently helped her to her feet and guides her towards the door. Before they had the chance to walk out the door, Catherine spoke once again.

"Wait... Wait! Why are you here Jacqueline?" There was a mixed of emotion in her voice but Jackie couldn't find it in her to decipher what it was. She put on her best acting face and turned around.

"I was simply dropping by to say 'Hello'; I will be on my way now." With that said, she bolted for the door. Richard rushed to follow the young woman, leaving the older blonde flabbergasted.

Out the door, she ran out of the campus and got into the car. She lean forwards positioning her head between her knees and starting to breathe heavily. It was a mistake to come back; she should have never thought of Catherine, this all wouldn't have happened if she simply stayed in Los Angeles. She heard the driver's door open and Richard settled in his seat. He attached his seatbelt and started the engine, and soon they were back on the road to her new place.

When they reached her house, Jackie walked up the door and tried the keys that Taye had given her. With a click, the door unlocks and she stepped inside. It was a decent place; the setting of the furniture was almost identical to her house, just smaller. She walked towards the countertop near the door and found an envelope addressed to her, it was Taye's handwriting. She took the letter out and skimmed through it.

'_Hey Jacks, I know there's a lot of memories in this place but take it easy okay? I trust you not to do anything stupid! Don't make my job harder than it is already. For the trip home, I organized your jet for you so whenever you want to come back, for whatever reason, tell Richard and he'll get you home ASAP._

_I know you Jacks, don't do anything I wouldn't do. Love, T._

_PS. There's enough booze in the house to kill an elephant so don't go clubbing, the paps are on your tail.'_

Jacqueline smiled at the letter, she knew she could always rely on Taye, after Mark, he was her go-to person. She puts the letter back in the envelope and places it back on the countertop.

She walked around the house several times to memorize where everything is before settling down in the couch with her laptop. She browsed around the internet; she even went on her Twitter to update her fans with her whereabouts.

An hour later, Jacqueline was running out of things to do on the internet. She dug her phone out of her purse and dialled the number she knew by heart.

"JACKS!" She had to pull the phone away from her ear when the line connected and a shriek came through.

"Hey Ash!" She chuckled.

"Are you in Bloomington yet? I'm on my way to the airport right now so I'll be landing there in like... 5 hours."

"Yep, I'm in the house right now. I can't wait to spend 2 weeks with you Ash! We haven't hanged out for so long." She whined through the phone, Ashley was one of the girls that were casted in Neptune; they've immediately hit it off when they first met. They lost contact when Jacqueline left L.A., but they were now the power two-shots on air.

"I know! I can't wait to see my bestie! You and I have a lot of time to make up for missy! Wait a sec." She heard muffling noises from the other side of the phone and a loud muffled scream before she heard Ashley's voice again.

"UGH! These people are driving me insane, people in L.A. seriously needs to learn how to drive." Jacqueline laughed at her best friend's road rage; somewhere in Ashley's rant, she knew she heard a 'fucking assholes', she simply pray to the Lord that she wouldn't run over anyone on her way to the airport.

"Okay Ash, I'll let you drive in peace. I'll see you soon? "

"You bet your ass you will! Love ya Jacks!"

With that, Jackie hung up and decided she should catch a couple hours of sleep. She crawled onto her bed, when she closed her eyes; all she could see was Catherine. Before Jacqueline realized, she fell into a light slumber.

It was a loud bang that awoken her from her slumber, she scrambled up from her bed. She was still in her sleepy haze when her bedroom door was kicked open. She whipped her head towards the noise's direction.

"JACKIEBOO!" That was all she heard before she felt a force colliding with her. Ashley enveloped her in a bear hug, trying to squeeze everything out of Jacqueline.

"Air. Ash. No. Air." Jacqueline gasped out the words and finally, Ashley released her death grip and sat in front of Jackie. She took a few seconds to recover from the deathly hug before grinning foolishly at her best friend.

They sat quietly in front of each other, taking in each other's change. Ashley was the first to break the comfortable silence.

"You don't have to pretend with me Jacks." Ashley's hands rose to cup Jacqueline's face, her tone was gentle. Ashley had always been able to read Jackie like an open book, she pulled Jacqueline into a tight hug, and not like the one she ambushed her when she first arrived. It was a gentle hug, it was reassuring. Jackie presses her face into Ashley's neck and releases a quiet sob, her hands held tightly onto Ashley's t-shirt.

"Sh- She," another sob broke through.

"I know, honey. I know, let it out Jacks." Ashley rubs gentle circles on her best friend's back. When they first reacquainted two years ago, the first thing Jacqueline did was pull Ashley into a hug and burst out crying. It took Jacqueline half a year to confess into Ashley, and since then on Ashley was always there when she missed Catherine.

In Ashley's mind, she loathed Catherine, how dare she break the heart of an innocent girl like Jacqueline?

"I t-thought I cou-could do this b-but i-it's just so... so hard" Jackie chokes out.

"Shhh, I've got you Jacks," Ashley whispers against the top of her head, rubbing soothing circles on Jackie's back.

Ashley clenches her jaw in frustration at how much control Catherine still has over her best friend, and it had been two years already.

"I know babe, I know."

"I w-want to go h-home, but I r-really m-misses her y-you know?" Another round of tears broke through and Ashley sighs in frustration, she knew how much Jacqueline loved Catherine, she knew how much she wanted to come back here to beg for forgiveness, she knew how much this is killing her.

It took half an hour before Jacqueline's outburst turns into quiet sniffling; it broke Ashley's heart every time she sees her best friend in this state. She felt helpless, all she could do was sit there and hold her, telling Jackie that they'll get through this together.

"Iwenttoseehertoday..." Ashley heard a muttering from Jacqueline, her voice was hoarse from all the crying.

"Hm?"

"Before I came here, I went to see her today... Richard was there." Jackie said dejectedly.

"The driver? He's a nice guy, but he scares me." Still in Ashley's embrace, Jackie let out a soft chuckle. It was true; Richard is a nice guy despite his stern look.

"He went inside her office with me... She was gorgeous, more stunning than I has ever seen..." Jacqueline said timidly, she fiddled with the hem of Ashley's shirt.

"I don't doubt that Jacks,"

"I don't know what I'm doing Ash," Her hoarse voice sounded so defeated, the Jacqueline that Ashley knew was always determined. Jackie is the type of girl that knows what she wants and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. She secretly admires Jackie's strength and determination, but this woman, this one woman that keeps breaking Jackie, bashing her down to the ground like dirt. The only times Ashley had ever seen Jackie so defeated is always somehow related to Catherine Stark, and this irks her so much.

Ashley sighed out of frustration; she pulls away from Jacqueline before squeezing her hands.

"You know what helps?"

"Jack and tequila." Jackie replied instantaneously. It was their thing, whenever one of them was down, they would drown themselves with Jack and tequila. It was their way of coping.

"Damn straight... No pun intended." Ashley winked at Jacqueline before getting off the bed and walked towards the mini fridge in the corner of the room.

"A little birdie told me that your house is loaded, and I can see that now." Ashley bent over and took out two bottles of Jack and tequila from the fridge before settling back down on the bed.

They broke open their own bottle and clanged the glass together, in one gulp they both chugged down half the bottle of Jack. Once the alcohol kicked in, they both started talking about random things that's happened in their lives for the past months.

For the first time in a long time, Jackie felt happier and relieved.

The sun shone through the blinds, Jackie groaned as she felt the typical hang over settles in. She covered her eyes with the palm of her hand, attempting to go back to sleep so she didn't have to deal with the headache and motion sickness but it was not successful. There was a constant beeping; it was obnoxiously loud and annoying for a hung over Jacqueline.

She slowly sits up from her bed and glanced around the room with squinted eyes for the source of said annoyance. Her sight landed on her cell phone, the background light was on and there was an incoming call. She reached for her phone and stared at the bright light for a minute, trying to figure out whose number was showing on the LED screen. Groaning out of frustration, she tapped on 'Accept'.

"Who is this?" She asked rudely, she glanced at the clock and realized that it was already 2 in the afternoon. There was a silent pause on the other side of the line, she called out again. But there was no reply, instead the line was ended. She glared at her cell phone, debating whether she should call the person back and yell the crap out of them or simply go get Tylenol and water.

She decided on the latter, she placed her phone back on the nightstand; she looked at her bed and found that Ashley was sprawled across the bed like a hibernating bear. She chuckled but immediately regretted it; the action caused her head to hurt more than it already did.

Slowly, she got out of the bed and walked downstairs to the kitchen, there she found a bottle of Tylenol and immediately, she downed two of the pills and 6 pints of water. After rehydrating herself and the drugs kicked in, her headache lessened and she brought a few bottles of water and the bottle of pill back to her room. She placed them on the nightstand near Ashley and went back to the kitchen and prepared brunch.

When Jacqueline was almost done frying pancakes, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was a rather dishevelled looking Ashley. Jackie grinned at her friend who's now laid dead on the island.

She placed the pancakes in two plates and gave one to Ashley along with a few more bottles of water.

"You are a goddess Jacks." Ashley moaned out in satisfaction when she shoved the pancake in her mouth. Jacqueline smiled at her friend's hang over state, she was glad to have such a good friend.

"So what are we doing today?"

"Hm... We could get Rich to drive us to the mall and shop? It's a Saturday after all." Ashley said through a mouthful of pancake. Jacqueline grimaced at the sight and slapped lightly on Ashley's forearm.

"That sounds great; clothes are girls' best friend after all,"

After brunch, Jackie took the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher while Ashley went back to her room and showered, changed into her outfit and put on her makeup. Soon after, both Jacqueline and Ashley had cleaned up nicely; they got out of the house to find Richard waiting by the car.

The two friends were chatting happily while strolling through the mall until Jackie pauses mid-step and her grin faltered. Ashley frowned at the sudden change in her friend and looked at the general direction where Jackie had her attention on.

There was a tall blonde woman, dressed in a white dress that hugs all her curves perfectly. Catherine Stark, Ashley grimaced at the woman. How great was their luck, when she finally got Jacks to live a little, there she is, in all her glory. She sighed and looked back at Jacqueline,

"Jacks, Jacks!" She snapped her fingers in front of Jackie, trying to get her attention.

Jackie snapped out of her momentary haze and looked back at Ashley, whose face basically had worried painted on. Ashley looked at the sudden defeated Jackie, she took a hold of her hand and was about to turn around when she noticed someone was standing in front of them.

"Jacqueline..." Catherine was now standing in front of the two-shots; she was rather surprised to see Jackie at the mall, her gaze fell on the connected hands between the two girls. Her brows furrowed. 'Why are they holding hands?' Catherine thought to herself.

Ashley looked at Jackie, she saw the hurt in her eyes but at the same time, she knew Jacks was happy to see this woman. Jacqueline noticed the worried look from her best friend and attempted to give Ashley a reassuring smile but that of course did not worked.

"Hello Ms. Stark," Jackie puts on her best acting smile; she did not know whether she could call Catherine by her name or whether she is simply her ex-professor. So she settled for the last name.

Catherine frowned at the formality, but shrugged it off. She had too many questions to ask. She was about to ask why Jacqueline was in Bloomington when she spotted a photographer taking pictures of them from a distance. Ashley seemed to catch on and saw the man as well, she pulled Jackie to face the cameras and they both waved with a huge smile.

"This isn't a good place for us to talk; maybe we can go into the cafe?" Ashley broke the awkward silence and tugged on Jackie hand, motioning her to go to the cafe across the mall. Jacqueline nodded and followed Ashley's lead, it seemed like every time she sees Catherine, her head goes haywire and she can't seem to think straight.

Catherine follows the two shorter women into the cafe, they settled in a secluded corner in the cafe.

Ashley was sitting beside Jackie while Catherine was across from them; no one had said a word ever since Ashley suggested the cafe.

"You look good Jackie." Catherine said softly. Ashley scoffed, 'What part of Jackie looks good to you? She's in pain and it was all because of you.' she thought. Sensing her friend's tenseness, Jackie gave Ashley's a firm squeeze before turning her gaze at the older professor.

"So do you."

She diverted her gaze from the woman to anywhere in the cafe, she didn't want to see the brown orbs or those beautiful dimples that she seemed to never be able to get enough.

Catherine noticed the subtle Interaction between the two girls, she was jealous but she knew she didn't have the right to be. Internally, she sighed.

"I don't think we have officially introduced, Ashley Reed." Ashley extended her arm towards Catherine, begrudgingly she forced out a smile.

"Catherine, Catherine Stark. I teach at Jacqueline's old college."

"Yes, I know."

Catherine sank a little lower into her chair, the tone Ashley used was stern and cold but there was something else: disapproval.

Jackie observed the interaction between her best friend and the woman who occupied her thoughts, she wanted to say so many things yet she couldn't. She wanted to yet the words were stuck at the back of her throat. Finally, when she mustered enough courage to break the silence, a ringtone broke through. It was Catherine's.

By the looks of Catherine's face when she picked up the phone, she knew that their "reunion" was cut short. When she hung up the phone, she politely excused herself and gave Jackie an apologetically glance. When Catherine stood up from her chair and was about to leave, she paused and turned back at the two women still sitting, she took out two business cards and slid them on the table before excusing herself for the last time.

Jacqueline stared at the card for the longest time, until Ashley took the cards and shove them in her purse. She couldn't help but wonder if she's thrilled that Catherine wants her to call her or angry because of everything Catherine had done in the past and she still had the nerves to subtly want her to call.

She shook her head and huffed. This was definitely not how she planned this trip to go.


	2. Chapter 1

**Title:** Glad You Came Back

**Pairing:** Jackie Kirk/Catherine Stark

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** It had been two years since the split; Jackie is now a hot-shot actress. Her life is going as good as she'll ever imagine but there was one thing that bothered her: Catherine. Jackie missed the tall blonde and despite everything that she did to hurt her, she wanted to see her one more time.

**A/N:** Okay, I know I haven't updated in a long time, I'm really, REALLY, sorry! I really hope you guys don't hate me after this chapter… ENJOY!

**Chapter 1**

Jackie looked at the blaring red on the clock placed on her nightstand. It had been three days since the run-in with Catherine. How can one person swoon at the mention of a name but immediately loathe said person? The conflict between her emotions was going to take its toll someday, and it'll be soon. She spread out comfortably on her bed; she sighed and diverted her sight to the white ceiling. She wanted to call Stark, she needed to, but she can't. She can't call the tall blonde no matter how or what, it was, after all, Catherine who left her.

She _left_ her, she made it crystal clear that she was over Jackie; Catherine was the one who ran when things got hard and brought a man, a _man_, back to her house knowing that Jackie was still there. She was the one who broke her heart, and crushed everything they had together into dust. She couldn't call Catherine because if she did, that would mean that she was just an easy fuck, that she would go running back to Catherine like a lovesick puppy. Her pride simply wouldn't let her succumb to the teacher's charms.

She glanced around her room, trying to find something that would distract her thoughts from the blonde. Her eyes landed on the dark amber coloured piano. She stared blankly at the instrument for what seemed like an eternity, she haven't touched or played the piano ever since she got the role for Neptune. She pushed herself upwards and crawled out of the bed. She walked slowly towards the piano and she placed her hand hesitantly on the lid. It was obvious that the piano was well-loved; she flipped it open to reveal the black and white keys. She ran her fingers lightly over the keys, she sat down on the bench and she could almost feel her mother beside her, playing their song.

She pressed lightly on a key and allowed the note to fill the empty room with a soothing sound. By the force of habit, she positioned her hands delicately on the keys and softly began to play. Jacqueline closes her eyes and started to reminisce how it used to be. Her mother and herself, sharing a bench and playing this very song, she did not need the music sheets, she have played the Moonlight Sonata enough in her youth to memorize every single note. Her mother once told her that music was an outlet for forgotten memories, memories that the pianist buried deep down; they were the strongest memories, they possess the rawest emotions of all. By listening to someone play a piece, whether it was self composed or a famous classic composed by past musicians, the music always have a past.

Slowly, Jacqueline built up the tempo and the piece was at its climax, the vivid memory repeatedly plays in her mind, the heartache she felt that night was unbearable and the pain was clear. The pain of losing the special person in your life, of knowing you will never have a chance with said person was crystal clear to Jackie. Her every single nerve was on fire, her emotions were everywhere, and tears began to roll down her porcelain cheek.

_After Catherine brings the man upstairs, all Jacqueline could feel was betrayal, anger and hurt. She knew that from the start she should not have put her heart in the hands of the older blonde. She was a well-known player and she fell for it, she fell hard in love with a woman that did not exist. There was no one to blame but herself, she tried to rein in the anger and walked out of the house. It was once her sanctuary, the one place where she could fully be herself and not the famous Jacqueline Kirk, that she was loved and cherished for being Jackie, however, that was all a lie. The one woman that she once thought could spend her forever with never existed; she was a plaything, nothing more and nothing less. _

_It was when Jacqueline arrived at the corner of the street that she could no longer hold in her sobs. She leaned over to the lamp post near where she stood and she let it all out. Her tears were pouring out like a never-ending stream of water; her sobs were heart-wrenching and there was no one left for her to go to. She was all alone on her own; the reality hits Jackie hard, painfully hard. _

_Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming behind her; foolishly, she thought that Catherine was running after her, that she would apologize for the harsh words she had throw at Jacqueline. However, when she looked back to the source of the footsteps, she knew –_

Her thoughts were cut short by a gasp, she opened her eyes and whipped her head around so fast that she swore she was going to have whiplash. Ashley stood near the door frame with a shocked expression on her face, her eyes were glazed over and they were fixated on her. She hadn't noticed she stopped breathing until she sighed softly. She turned around to face Ashley and she chuckled softly at the shocked state she had render Ashley in.

"Cat got your tongue?" She smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

At the sound of Jacqueline's voice, Ashley snapped out of her temporary stupor.

"You— that song – Are you –" She could not even formulate a proper sentence, the sight of Jacqueline playing the piano was overwhelming. She knew for a fact that Jackie stopped playing the piano when Neptune became famous, and the emotion behind that piece was simply heartbreaking.

Jacqueline simply shook her head and gave Ashley a weak smile before walking past her to the living room. Ashley was still stunned at her friend's sudden interest in playing the piano again; it wasn't until she heard the TV being turned on that she snapped out of her reverie. She turned around and stared at Jackie, who has her back turned to Ashley sitting in front of the television, flipping through different channels. She sighed and closed the bedroom door and walked towards the coat rack.

"Hey Jacks, I'm going to the mall again, text me if you need me okay?" Ashley knew that Jackie needed this time alone, she knew better than to push her when she wasn't ready to talk. Jackie simply grunted in affirmation to her friend's question.

Ashley simply shook her head, grabbed her purse and walked out to her car. As Ashley was strolling through the College Mall, she caught sight of the blonde, and was Ashley unsurprised, she was not alone. A questioning eyebrow rose, she slowly walks towards the professor. It didn't take Catherine long to notice the brunette, a sudden panic rose in Stark, she was walking through a mall with a man; the chance of Ashley misunderstanding the relationship between the two was extremely high. Cross that, it was certain that she will misunderstand and therefore ruin any possible chance that she may still have with Jackie. _'Shit!'_ There was no time for Catherine to run or get away from the man beside her, Ashley was already in direct eye contact with her.

"**Mrs. **Stark, I didn't expect to see you here." Catherine had not missed the bite in Ashley's tone, _'When did I become a Mrs.… Oh no, don't tell me—_'She frowned at the acknowledgment, and then she realized that the brunette thought she was married to the guy beside of her.

"Oh. I'm not m—"

"And you must be Mr. Stark? Pleasure to meet you." she stuck out her hand to the man standing beside Catherine. He smile politely at the gesture and shook Ashley's hand.

"Could we have a word, **Mrs.** Stark?" Ashley pulled Catherine roughly aside, the fury was obvious and it was literally radiating off of Ashley.

"How DARE you play Jackie like this, you are married and you want to pursue her? Do you not have any morals? Did you think of what your husband would think? You selfish whore, you should have just left everyone alone; you don't deserve to be with anyone! Let alone my Jackie, I'm warning you, stay the hell away from us or I'll make sure to ruin what pathetic little life you have left." Even if Ashley lowered her voice, the venom could be heard from miles away, she didn't bother to sugarcoat or hide her hatred and dislike for the blonde.

She didn't give Catherine time to explain herself, or the situation and turned her heels towards the blonde man that she assumed to be Catherine Stark's husband.

"It was a pleasure." She smiled slightly and nodded before stomping away to her car.

Catherine returned to the blonde male and looked at him apologetically, "Désole Yves, elle était une étudiante de l'école." (Sorry, she was a student) "C'est pas grave, allons-y?" (That's fine, shall we?)

Catherine nodded and continues to show Yves around the mall, she silently cursed her ability to speak in French. After all, if she wasn't bilingual, she wouldn't have to show the new French professor around. Lord, how she curses the day she learned French right now, if she could, she would've ran to chase Ashley down and explain the whole situation but no, luck has to be against her today and give her this.. She groaned in frustration at the situation before smiling and continuing the tour.

It didn't take Ashley long to get back to their house, when she walked into the living room, she found Jackie crying on the sofa. Her heart broke at the sight of her best friend being in pain because of some blonde bimbo. She rushed to her side and took Jackie in her arms, "Let's go to a club tonight and have some fun. That's what we came here for right?" She looked down to Jackie, who's currently snuggled up in her arms. Jackie nodded and tightens her hold on her best friend.

When the girls finally got ready for their late night activities, it had already been 5 hours. Jackie stood in front of the full-length mirror and tried to remember when the last time she had fun was; she was wearing a light blue one-sleeve tube dress. It had rips on the side of the waistline but not enough to be too revealing. Her hair was straightened and her side-bangs were French-braided to the side. She twirled in front of mirror and wondered what kind of shoes she should wear for the night.

Ashley, being the clubber of the duo, was already dressed and ready. She peeked into Jackie's room and saw her standing in front of the mirror barefooted. Chuckling inwards, no doubt the short blonde was wondering what shoes she should wear. She thought for a second before interrupting Jacqueline's thoughts, "Your cone heel diamante strip platform heels."

Startled by Ashley's voice, she whipped her head around and found the voice's owner leaning on her door frame with an amused smirk plastered on her face. "Ash! Don't scare me like that," she pouted slightly, unhappy that Ashley managed to always scare her like that. She was about to continue her protest when Ashley cuts into her long rambling speech, again. "Come on, get your heels and let's get going!"

Frowning, Jackie knew that if she didn't finish getting ready, they would probably never get to the club and back before dawn. She gave her brunette friend one last accusatory pout before rummaging her closet for the platforms.

A few minutes later, Jackie finally found the heels; she quickly put them on and went in front of her vanity to retouch her make-up. Ashley observed her friend throughout the whole process, this was the Jackie that she knew and loved, the energetic, fun, loving Jacqueline, not the girl that was crying her life out this morning. The more she thought about it, her dislike for the professor grew, '_How dare she put the sadness in Jackie's eyes, she doesn't deserve anything but the best. Anyone who tries to take away Jacqueline's smile should be killed._' As she was engrossed in her own thoughts, Jackie was already done with her make-up and was standing in front of her with her purse on her shoulder. Jackie pinched and pulled on her cheeks in attempt to retrieve her friend from whatever planet she had floated to. Ashley snapped back to reality and tried to bit on Jackie's fingers, they giggled and laughed before linking arms and walked out of the door.

Arriving at the club, they got out of the car and walked towards the entrance where two black-suit bouncers were standing. Being two very well-known actresses, it didn't take long for the two men to let them in. Once they were inside the establishment, it was pitch black with neon lights flashing around like crazy, the music was blasting in the background and people were just grinding on each other on the dance floor. Ashley beamed, knowing that this would be the perfect place and time for Jackie to loosen up and have some fun, grabbed Jackie by the arm and pulled her towards the bar.

Ashley was about to order her usual rum and coke when Jackie cuts in and told the bartender to give them a round of tequila shots. Ashley looked at Jacqueline with her eyebrow rose in question, "Well, since we're here to have fun, why not?" Jackie replied simply, the real reason is that she wanted to forget Catherine and everything that came along with that tall blonde. The happy, painful, loving, longing memories and the what-if's that had been floating through her mind the whole day. When their drink had arrived, Jackie grabbed her glass and downed it in one gulp and slapped the glass on the counter. She could feel the liquor burned as it goes down her throat, it wasn't the first time she had drank tequila, but she still winced at the sensation.

When they both had a few more rounds of drinks, Jackie pulled Ashley down to the dance floor, one of her favourite song was playing and she needed to get her mind off Catherine, what's better than dirty dancing and alcohol?

'_**So many girls in here, where do I begin?**_

_**I see this one, I'm 'bout to go in**__'_

As the song blasted through the dance floor, she threw her hands in the air and started to let her body flow to the beat.

'_**Where them girls at, girls at?**_

_**Where them girls at, girls at?**_

_**Where them girls at, girls at?**_

_**So go get them, we can all be friends**__'_

She moved her body against the people near her; she even felt someone grabbing her hips and started to grind on her ass. She smiled and turned around to face her dancing partner for the song, to her surprised, it was a tall red-head. Beaming seductively at the stranger, she wrapped her arms around the red haired woman and started to grind her lower body to match the beat of the song.

'_**Ten to one of me, I can handle that love**_

_**Outta of my reach, we can all get buzzed**_

_**Holla, 'cause I'm free to whatever, it's no rush**__'_

Jackie didn't know if it was the alcohol or her desire to forget a certain blonde made her grab the red hair and landed a kiss on her lips, it started out light and simple and as the song went on, their kiss began to get heated and wet. Their body didn't stop grinding on each other, instead their hand started to roam all over each other's body.

'_**Yo, where my girls at, uh, hmm, uh**_

_**Yo, where my girls tryna get to jumpin'**__'_

The song was slowly coming to an end but the duo was still engrossed in their heated lip lock, finally out of air, they broke apart and Jackie looked into her stranger's eyes. While the room was dark, the closeness between the two allowed her to see that her dancer's eyes were hazel and it was coated with lust. She smirked and kissed the redhead's cheek one last time and whispered, "Thank you for the dance," before tearing herself away from the woman.

Somehow, she knew that the woman would follow her, she sashayed her hips while walking towards Ashley, who is currently sipping on a cocktail near the bar. She sat beside her friend and was about to order a drink for herself when she felt arms wrapping around her waist and a relatively rough and sensual voice called over the bartender and ordered her a drink.

Her lips were tugging upwards when she saw a glimpse of red hair from the corner of her eye. She leaned backwards to let the redhead engulf her whole body, she turned her head towards the woman and nipped on the woman's neck. "I don't believe we've met," she whispered huskily.

The redhead turned her attention from the bartender to the woman in her embrace; she smiled at the short blonde that's currently residing on her, "Michelle Johansson, and you?" She nodded in thanks towards the bartender and placed the glass in Jackie's hand.

"Jackie, Jackie Kirk." She said slyly all the while continuing her light kisses on Michelle's neck. Michelle smiled at the adorableness and held Jackie closer to her. Jackie took the drink and downed it once again, ignoring whatever it might be, she ordered a few more rounds. On her third, a rather handsome blonde came over and asked Ashley to dance for a few songs, her best friend casted a worried glance towards Jackie. Michelle reassured that she'll take care of Jackie and Jackie nodded and gave her a reassuring smile as well.

Jackie forgot how many drinks she had, but judging from the spinning room, she has had enough. Grinning brightly, she got out of the redhead's embrace and asked Michelle if she wants to go dance again.

'_**Let me introduce you to my party people**_

_**In the club**__'_

Jackie dragged Michelle over to the dance floor once again and positioned herself between her new-found-dancer-of-the-night's legs. She wrapped her arms around her neck like she did during their first dance.

'_**Grab somebody, drink a little more**_

_**Tonight we gon' be it on the floor**_

_**Tonight we gon' be it on the floor**__'_

Michelle put her hands on Jackie's hips and closed the little distance they had left in between, they were now standing chest to chest and face to face. Jackie tore her arms away from Michelle's neck and threw them in the air; she rolled her body which created a grinding motion towards her dancing partner. She closed her eyes and let the loud thumping of the bass move her body, Michelle's hands were no longer on Jackie's hips, but instead they started to move upwards. Jackie reopened her eyes and grabbed the roaming hands before turning around and started to grind her ass on Michelle's crotch. For the first time of the night, the redhead was glad she had worn tight black jeans. Jackie, who was still holding Michelle's hands, cupped her own breasts with the redhead's hands and put her arms around the woman's neck once again. Since Jackie was slightly shorter than Michelle, she fits nicely with her, the grinding didn't stop but instead the touching was getting hotter by the second.

'_**Baby if you're ready for things to get heavy**_

_**I get on the floor and act a fool if you let me, dale**__'_

Ashley, finally free from the man who asked her for a dance, was looking for Jackie. She hoped that her friend didn't get kidnapped or -, at the moment, she found Jackie. Not only was Jackie with Michelle, they were practically having sex standing up, but with clothes. Their hips were moving in sync, grinding onto each other, Ashley chuckled. If men around the duo were turned on, then the two dancing was definitely hot and bothered. At the end of the song, Michelle whispered near Jackie's ear, "Do you want to take this somewhere else?" her voice was rough and scratchy; to say it didn't turn Jackie on would be the lie of the year.

"Your place." Jackie simply said, that was all it took for Michelle to take Jackie outside to her car.

When they finally arrived to the redhead's house, their lips attacked each other. Michelle wrapped her arms around Jackie's waist and lifted her up, Jackie simply wrapped her legs around Michelle, and not for a second did their lips part. Michelle pushed her front door open, and then swiftly kicked it closed again. Jackie was already pulling on her shirt, quickly without delay, they started to undress each other. As Michelle was palming Jackie's breasts, a series of memories flashes through Jackie's mind, it was the first time she had sex with Catherine.

_It was right after the party at her university, they were in Catherine's room, and to say she was nervous was an understatement, Catherine was standing in front of her, in a white short nightgown. She shifted nervously from foot to foot as the tall blonde approaches her. Catherine slowly unbuttoned her blue shirt, "Are you okay?" she asked softly. Jackie looked down to the hands working on her shirt's button, "Uh huh," she tried her best to keep the quiver out of her voice. After all, this was only her second time with another woman, "Are you sure?" As Catherine pop the last button on her shirt._

_They were lying on the bed with Catherine hovering her, she could see the hesitation in the tall blonde's eyes. _

"_Have you ever done this before?" Catherine asked. Jackie didn't know if she meant has she ever had sex with a girl or has she ever had sex at all. She nodded at the question, "You have." Catherine said incredulously, Jackie hesitated whether or not she should tell the blonde about her prior experience and decided that if they were to have sex, there's no point in hiding._

"_Once, I think," she nodded slightly and Catherine's face shown apprehension._

"_You think?" she chuckled slightly at the lack of certainty in Jackie's answer._

"_Ye-yeah, but I'm not suppose to say who with," she replied, "she's on TV." she added sadly._

"_Oh. Of course, I understand." Catherine bit her lips, for some strange reason she had wanted to be Jackie's first, she could feel a wave of jealousy washing over her, she caressed the shorter woman's hair._

"_Do you want to leave…?" She offered to Jackie, even if it hurts her to think that Jackie would want to leave when they are already here._

"_No." Catherine felt relieved at the answer but still, she didn't want to force herself on the woman._

"_Well, let me know if you do." _

_Jackie was no longer capable of words, so instead, she nodded and smiles softly._

"_Okay, close your eyes." Jackie did as told; seconds later, she felt a pair of soft lips against her own. She tried her best to not wrap her arms around Catherine and deepen the kiss. When Catherine pulled away, she immediately missed those luscious lips._

"_Don't forget to breathe," Catherine said teasingly. Jackie apparently had forgotten to breathe as she felt a hand caressing her stomach. _

"_Good girl."_

Michelle was nipping on her neckline when Jackie's eyes snapped open; she immediately pushed the redhead off of her. Michelle frowned in confusion at the sudden action, "What's wrong?" she asked the blonde, who was trying to cover up with the blanket.

"I- I can't do this, I'm sorry." She stuttered, her voice was quivering, tears were pooling in her eyes. Michelle immediately sat up and cupped Jackie's cheek, "What happened? Did I go too fast?" She asked gently, she had assumed that Jackie had wanted to have sex with her after all the flirting and grinding happened back at the club.

"I- No, I'm sorry Michelle," with that said, she pushed Michelle's hand away and quickly pulled on her dressed. She didn't even bother putting her heels on, she took her purse that was lying on the kitchen counter and ran out of the house. She didn't stop running until she had reached a nearby park and she sat on one of the benches, trying to catch her breath, she found her cell phone in her purse. Tears were running down her face, she pressed on the first number that appeared on her screen. What she didn't know was that she had dialed Catherine's number. The line rang twice before a voice came through the speaker.

"… Jackie?" Jackie jumped at the voice, she had expected to be Ashley but instead, it was Catherine's voice.

"I- Can you come pick me up…?" She choked on her words, hoping that Catherine would at least help her this time.

"Wh- What happened?"

"I- I was at the cl-club and I le-left with M-Michelle and I cou-couldn't…" Jackie couldn't even complete her sentence before another wave of sobs broke through. All she could hear from the speaker was silence, she didn't want Catherine to judge her, not now when she's in this state.

"Don't call me because your one-night-stand didn't go as planned, Ms Kirk." With that, the line went dead. Jackie looked at her phone incredulously, 'How dare her…' Enraged, she punched in Ashley's number and asked for her best friend to come pick her up instead.

Half an hour later, a car pulled up in front of the park and Jackie immediately recognized the black Benz. Ashley rushed out of the car and ran towards Jackie; she helped her to her feet and held her as they walk towards the car.

During the ride home, Ashley didn't ask what had happened and Jackie didn't say. Ashley helped her clean up and as they were snuggled in the bed, for the first time of the night, Jackie had spoken.

"I hate Catherine."


	3. Chapter 2

**Title:** Glad You Came Back

**Pairing:** Jackie Kirk/Catherine Stark

**Rating:** M

**A/N:** None of these are beta'd by the way, and I'm too lazy to look over them when I'm done writing them… Sigh. Oh and I've decided that I'll be updating relatively faster with shorter chapters!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Slowly, the two weeks that Jackie had taken off was coming to an end. Catherine Stark had become two words that were completely banned from Jackie, if you were to ever mention that woman at her, all hell will be released. After that night with Michelle, Jackie had closed herself in their house for days. Ashley had tried to get Jackie to tell her what had happened that night, but to no avail. She had tried to coerce Jacqueline to get out of the house; she had even bribed the girl to get out, for Christ's sake! On the day before the day of departure, she slammed open the bedroom door, Jackie was wrapped with the blanket like a cocoon, "Okay, that's it. I'm done with this." She said as she harshly pulls away the blanket from Jackie's hold and body.

"Do you remember WHY exactly we came here?" She was furious at this point; they were supposed to be enjoying this escape from L.A., granted this trip also serves to let Jackie get closure with Catherine but the main point is to RELAX. Not sulk in their condo like some kind of heartbroken teenage girl.

When Ashley didn't hear a response, she took hold of Jackie's arm and pulled her into a sitting stance on the bed, she turned her head towards her before staring into the blonde's eyes.

"Jackie, whatever that woman did to you, it's done and over with. If she wants to be a bitch, let her, but don't you dare go back to the state you were two years ago." Her voice started to crack as she tried to finish the sentence; she had been the one to pick Jackie up when she was broken by this very same woman, she had to endure all the crying, all the midnight crying phone calls and she had to see her best friend completely and utterly broken.

Jackie knew that she couldn't continue this way, but she doesn't know what to do, she hated that woman yet she was still in love with her. _'Obviously, she's not in love with me anymore.'_ she thought to herself mockingly.

"Please, Jackie. Don't let her ruin your life again." Ashley pleaded as a tear slowly rolled down her cheeks, she couldn't see her friend like this anymore. Every single time, it had to be about Catherine Stark, there's nothing special about that woman, nothing; but instead, Jackie had to be so hooked up on her that she just let that older woman destroy her over and over again.

Jackie stared blankly at her best friend, the woman who stood by her through the worst moments of her life; slowly, the corner of her lips tugged upwards. A soft smile was all she could manage, but it was a start, she pulls her friend closer to her and wrapped her arms around Ashley.

"I'm sorry, Ash." She whispered in the brunette's ear.

The reason she came back was for closure, and if this was the closure she gets, so be it. From now on, she's going to take Ashley's advice and move on from this. Catherine was the love of her life, she knew that, but she wouldn't degrade herself to the level of allowing the older blonde to constantly hurt her. Nothing is perfect, and the pain will linger but the wounds will become scars and soon, it'll be all in the past. She chuckled softly as she tightens her hold on her friend. Ashley was truly the best friend she could have ever asked for.

Ashley sniffed and returned the embrace; they stood there in each other's arms for a while before they finally separated. The voidance was gone and was replaced by a new sense of determination in Jackie's eyes, if anything, Ashley was glad to see her friend back.

"Okay, enough of this sappy crap, we have one day left before we have to go back to L.A. How about you and I get cuddled up in the sofa, with a bowl of strawberries and a carton of ice cream and laugh at the soap dramas like we used to?"

"Sounds perfect."

Ashley led Jackie out of the bedroom and they both gathered the food items before settling in on the couch, enjoying what's left of their vacation.

* * *

><p>With all the drama happened during the two weeks, Jackie and Ashley got even closer than they were already. As they landed in L.A., Jackie immediately whipped out her phone and dialed Taye's number.<p>

The line rang three times before it was answered.

"Hey Jacks! You back in L.A.?" A smiled crept on her face as she heard the voice of her manager. It had been a while and she had missed his 'upbeat-ness'.

"Hey Taye, yeah, I just landed. Can you get Ash and I a ride? I gotta talk to you about something."

"Yeah, sure. I'll get it right now, everything alright, Jacks?" Even if Taye's tone had remained playful, Jackie could hear the underlying concern from the man.

"Yep, everything's fine. We'll see you soon, 'kay?"

"Sounds good, see ya kiddo."

Jackie hung up the phone and turned to Ashley and informed her that a car will come here to pick them up. As they were walking through the airport, despite their effort of putting together a disguise, their fans had immediately spotted them. Within seconds, they were swamped with excitement filled teenagers and camera flashes. They continued to smiled at the crowd but also attempting to push them away to get to the limo that had just arrived.

The driver shot out of the car and securities quickly headed towards the two ladies, soon they were settled into the car and was on their way back to Taye's office.

"I had missed that, the rush of being a star." Ashley sighed dramatically. Jackie simply laughed at her friend's antics and thanked the driver for saving them right on time.

When the duo arrived at Taye's office, they found him on the phone, deep in a serious conversation. They quietly took a seat in front of his bureau and waited for him to finish. A few minutes passed and he finally concluded the call and turned his attention back to the ladies.

"Ladies, how was the vacation?" His tone reverted back to the upbeat, friendly manner.

Knowing that Jackie wouldn't want to talk about it, she took the initiative to reply, "It was fine, and we finally caught up to_ Modern Family_, so who was that?" She tried to divert his attention to something else other than the vacation.

"Wonderful! Oh, that was good news, great news even. Guess who's nominated for the Golden Globes?" He gushed excitedly.

The two women gaped at Taye, "NO WAY!" they both yelled simultaneously.

"YES WAY! Jackie, you've been nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series!" Once he finished the sentence, the three of them squealed in excitement, Jackie looked at Ashley and started to hug and jump at the same time. She may have won a lot of awards but each award was as great as the first she'd ever gotten.

Finally, they settled down from the news. Taye remembered that Jackie had mentioned that she was going to talk to him regarding something.

"Oh right, you remember the offer for the new movie coming up by Steven Spielberg? I want to take it." She turned to face her manager and decided in a serious tone. She knew that if she was to accept the offer, the amount of time, work and travel she'd have to make would be enormous, but she wanted to become a better actress and she'd be an idiot to turn down Steven Spielberg.

"Are you sure, Jacks? You'll be all over the place; you'll have to travel back and forth for the movie and the new TV series you accepted." He was worried that Jackie couldn't be able to handle the work load; after all, it is huge.

"I'm sure, I—"As she was about to continue, her phone rang. She fished out her cell and looked at the caller. It was Catherine; Ashley saw the screen flashes with the older blonde's name and frowned slightly.

Jackie stared at her phone as the ringtone continues to blast out of the speaker, should she answer the phone and risk to fall back into the trend that she was only a few days ago…? Was she worth it? Questions were flying through her mind at million miles per second.

Finally, she swiped the phone and declined the call, and when she declined the call, she threw the phone directly at the wall. It was broken into pieces, the chip had fallen out and the phone itself was destroyed. The amount of force and hatred she had used to throw that phone was physically visible.

"Taye, I need a new phone, and a new number. My phone broke." She casted the broken device one last glance before turning back to the man and gave him a reassuring smile.

'_She will get better; she will forget Catherine and she will move on.' _She repeated the phrase like a mantra.

Taye looked at Ashley, who gave him a curt nod in return, "Of course Jacks." he replied shortly.

"I'll get that to you tomorrow, and the Golden Globe is in two weeks, you're going to bring Ashley?"

"Do you even have to ask, Taye?" Jackie winked at her best friend, who rolled her eyes with the grin plastered on her face.

* * *

><p>Weeks had gone by fast whenever Jackie had a new film or a new series to shoot, without noticing the date, the Golden Globe was here. At first, Jackie had been reluctant for Taye to set her up with a Twitter account, however when she found out that her fans from all over the world would be thrilled to be in touch with her even in the small way possible, she agreed.<p>

She was dressed in sleeveless one-shoulder cream white cocktail dress; it had a layer of lace flowing down from the chest to her waistline. The white was contrasted with a black ribbon tied at the waist. Her hair was straightened, falling gracefully down to her bust; her bangs were swiped to the side into a nicely done French braid. She had an elegant diamond necklace around her neck, the jewelry dipping into her cleavage, accentuating her breasts. After her make-up artist had finish the retouching and putting on her earrings, she was very pleased with how she looked.

Immediately, she called in Ashley and told her to take a photo for her so she could upload it to Twitter for her fans to see what she was wearing for tonight's event.

When all was said and done, Ashley told Jackie that if they didn't go now, they would be later than their fashionably lateness. Swiftly, they walked out towards their limo, which had been waiting for quite a while. The chauffeur noticed the ladies' arrival and opened the car door for them.

After they had settled into the vehicle, they were on the route to the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

When they had arrived to the destination, they stepped out of the car and were immediately swamped by cameramen and reporters. They posted for pictures, replied to questions, and slowly moving towards the hotel.

Even if this was Jackie's first nomination for Golden Globe, she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that she was here. Her mind was not even at the event, or anywhere near. She was constantly spacing out, only remembered to talk when Ashley subtly jabbed her side every time a question was directed at her.

When the ceremony commenced, nominations were called and award winners were giving their speeches, she paid no mind to whatever the famous actors, actresses or directors had to say. She glanced around her, not knowing really what she was doing, even with Ashley by her side, she had felt lonely. The emptiness in her heart and mind was growing by the second; she knew that she should give up on Catherine, to finally get on with her own life, but why the fuck was it so hard?

She wouldn't have noticed that she had just won her nomination, if it wasn't for Ashley and her swift kick under the table. She put on her shocked façade and maneuvers herself towards the stage. She was given the Globe and she was standing at the podium, with the award in hand but no speech in mind.

She didn't even remember what she had said for her award speech, or why the whole crowd was clapping and crying at her after she had spoken, all she could remember was the chocolate colored orbs that bore into her soul years ago.

The ceremony ended with no trouble, the duo had returned home late at night. When Ashley and Jackie had settled down on the couch, Ashley was debating whether or not she should push her friend to tell her what was wrong.

"Back there…" Jackie spoke in a soft whisper, "I felt lonely, I felt like… I was all alone in this. Maybe Catherine was right; I'm just a stupid, clingy brat." She chuckled coldly at herself.

"You're not stupid and you're definitely not alone, Jackie! You have me, and Taye… and all the fans that worship the ground you walk on. She doesn't matter!"

"But she does! Can't you see? I'm a mess because of her, I was a disaster because of her, and everything is about her. She matters to me, Ash… I just…" Her voice cracked and she could feel a red heat slowly filling her eyes. She could feel the tears pouring out, "I am just so tired… I'm tired of feeling alone, Ash." She looked right into Ashley's eyes, she was tired and she couldn't do this anymore. Everything hurts and nothing was going to ever fix what she's feeling.

Ashley didn't know what to say, she knew Catherine had a big impact on Jackie but not this big, maybe moving on wasn't a choice for her friend anymore. She wrapped her arms around the shorter blonde and let her friend cry to her heart's content.

'_Why is it so hard for us to be happy, for Jackie to be happy…?'_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It had been a week since she got a phone call from her mother, a phone call that flipped her world upside down and scrambled it all up. Catherine sat in the loveseat, staring out of the window.

"_Catherine… Your father had died from a heart attack yesterday."_

One sentence was all it took to ruin everything she had, or what's left of what she had. 

She hadn't been in contact with her parents for years, and suddenly her mother had to call and tell her that her father, the loving man that she once knew, was dead? She brought her hand to her mouth in attempt to cover the sob that was trying to come out.

It was like the little plug on the giant water tank had been broken, the damp was open and there was nothing she could do. She brought her knees up and buried her face between her legs as she mourns over the death of her father. The sobbing resounded throughout the house, it was deafening and heart wrenching. It takes a lot to break down Catherine's cold and calm façade, and this was too much for her to handle; between Jackie and her family, this past month have been a disaster.

Nothing in her life made sense anymore, she had no idea what she's going to do; the one woman that had given her peace of mind and happiness was driven away by her own stupidity, the man whom she look up to is now dead and gone, her career is still a mess, her love life and her life was messed up.

As she sobbed, she thought about all the times she had taken comfort from Jackie, the times that the younger blonde and leaned on her for support, they were wonderful together. They were happy, what happened to that?

'_I drove Jackie away… it was all me, and because of my stupidity and idiotic self, I lost the person who might have been the love of my life…' _A wave of sadness and regret came rushing through Catherine's body.

'_I don't deserve any of them… I never did and I never will…'_

She stood up, neglecting the tears that were running down her face, and made her way towards the kitchen. She took out a bottle of vodka from the cooler and popped the cap open before gulping down the bottle like water.

Half a bottle gone before she set aside the vodka, she could feel the alcohol running through her blood streams, slowly numbing the agonizing pain and replacing it with drowsiness.

She stumbled and tripped her way towards the couch before face planting on the soft sofa. Not once had the tears stop pouring down her face, but right now, she was too tired to care. She closed her eyes and let the sleepiness take over her mind.

The next few days were hectic, completely chaotic; her mother had informed her that since her father is now deceased, it is up to her to take over the family business. If she wasn't glad that she had taken business as a minor in university, she is definitely thanking all the holy beings for that minor degree.

Between all the paperwork from the corporation and her teaching assignments, she had decided that she'll quit her job as a psychology professor and fully invest herself into the Stark Corporation. It is, after all, the only thing her father had left her family with.

The next week was spent reviewing her father's will and dividing his assets, Catherine and her mother were constantly under emotional pressure and distress, the lawyers from the distant family members tried their best to claim part of the corporation and Catherine's father's assets. When all was said and done, Catherine had to take over the company and take up all the responsibilities of a chairman, the CEOs had ensure a smooth transition but there are the greedy ones that tries to knock the blonde out of her seat before she had even got there.

Soon, a month had passed and the company was more or less settled, the company had decided to throw a party in commemoration of Jerald Stark and to welcome Catherine.

Catherine was now flipping through her closet for a proper outfit to attend to the gala, being the new chairman; she can never be late for these events. She quickly did her hair into a loose ponytail with a few strands out that shapes her sharp figure, and apply her make up before stepping into her crimson strapless gown and her matching crimson Jimmy Chou heels.

She had arrived half an hour early to the event and made sure that everything was in order, she had given last minute instructions to the staff before the guests and investors arrived.

The whole night was spent chatting with potential investors, old investors and different CEOs from other companies. As she was walking around, about to greet another investor, her CEO tapped on the microphone near the piano stand in order to get the attention of the audience. The light in the room had dimmed and a spot light lit upon where the CEO was currently standing.

"Welcome everybody; it is a great pleasure to have all of you here tonight. Tonight, we are celebrating and welcoming Catherine Stark to the Stark Corporation as the new chairman also to honor all the outstanding work her father, Jerald Stark, had accomplished in his early years." Everyone was clapping while another spot light found Catherine; she smiled and nodded at the applause.

"We have invited one of the most famous actress and pianist to perform for us tonight, please, a round of applause for Jackie Kirk!" With that, he stepped aside and Jackie walked towards the piano in all her wonderful glory.

Catherine's eyes were fixated on the shorter blonde, her eyes widen as she took in Jackie's smaller statue; she had no idea that she would be here tonight, let alone performing for her welcoming party slash father's memorial.

She slowly made her way towards the piano, as she approaches the upright, a soft melody started to flow.

It was a melody that she had heard before; when she was still with Jackie, she would hum this melody when she's concentrating on something she was working on.

She let her eyes rake all over the younger pianist, she never knew that Jackie could play the piano, _'Well, that just shows how much I actually know her…' _she chuckled darkly at herself.

Jackie sat with her back straighten, her fingers were dancing on the black and white keyboard, she tried to push away any distracting thoughts and forces herself to concentrate on the music.

Her mind was filled with all the potential 'what-ifs' question regarding Catherine, she knew from the start that she shouldn't have taken this gig, she should have just stayed far, far away from the older blonde. _'Well, she just lost her father, the least I could do is give my condolence.' _She tried to rationalize the whole ordeal.

Even though her mind was elsewhere, her years-long practice had allowed her to play without fault. Finally, the song was coming to an end, and Jackie was free for the rest of the night, softly, she ended the piece with a decrescendo and allowed the last note to hold.

A round of applause rang through the room, Jackie stood up from the bench and bowed ever so lightly and turned towards Catherine. She saw the wonderful tall blonde standing beside a few other business men, engrossed in a conversation. She frowned sadly, _'I suppose she didn't wanted me here, with the phone call and all…'_ Tears started to well up in her eyes; quickly, she turned her heels and speedily walked towards Ashley, who had all but insisted to tag along for the night's event.

Once she reached her friend, she took hold of her arm and dragged the redhead towards the bathroom.

During Jackie's performances, Catherine was ever so engrossed into the young blonde that she didn't notice the approaching of the two largest shareholder of her father, no, her company.

It was when she heard a clearing of throat that she noticed the two couples standing behind her; immediately, she replaced her dreamy look with a polite smile. _'Don't you see I'm in the middle of appreciating my gi-… __**ex**__ girlfriend?'_ Catherine wanted to just throw all these people out and take Jackie on that piano bench right there and then, but she knew that was impossible to do. She politely conversed with the two men, if she had to be honest, she had absolutely no idea what their name was.

When the song had came to an end, Catherine tried to pull herself away from the shareholders and the other men who came to join into their conversation, in excuse of thanking the pianist for such a wonderful performance. The idea of leaving the conversation was quickly shot down as her mother approached her. For a slight second where she tore her eyes and attention away from the old hags that wanted nothing but her money and company, she saw Jackie hurried away with Ashley. She had thought that she saw what seemed to be tears flowing down her beloved's face. However, her attention was quickly pulled back into the boring money talk.

By the time Jackie arrived to the restroom, her face was already covered in tears, Ashley grabbed a handful of tissues and quickly dabbed at her friend's face. A sob escaped from Jackie's tightly enclosed lips, and seconds later, she was bawling her eyes out.

Ashley wrapped her arms around the short blonde, _'I just want Jacks to be happy for once, is that too much to ask?'_ The two girls remained in their position for a few more minutes until Jackie's cries and sobs had came down to a stop, Ashley softly rubbed her back and shushed the remaining sobs. She tilted Jacqueline's face upwards and proceeded to clean up the mess that the tears had caused.

"It's alright, honey, everything is going to be alright." She cooed gently at her friend,

"I- I'm so-sorry," Ashley pulls Jackie into a tight embrace, how many more times must her friend break her own heart before she can find happiness?

"Shh, don't apologize to me." She paused for a minute, allowing Jacqueline to reclaim her calmness before continuing, "Do you want to go home now, or…"

Ashley really hopes that Jackie will agree to go home instead of going to talk to the taller blonde, who just so happens to be the cause of her constant heartbreak.

"I… I don't know Ash—" As she tried to explain to Ashley how she wanted to go home but she should at least pay her condolences, she was rudely interrupted by the sudden opening of the restroom door.

If Jackie had expected anybody to come in, she hadn't expected it to be Catherine: the only person she wishes to be with and see, even through all the shit the older woman had put her through.

"…Jackie?"


	5. Chapter 4

"Jacqueline! Please, stop," Catherine follows hastily behind the shorter blonde. It was this time that she curses the invention of heels. _'Since when did she walk so fast?! Fuck these heels, ugh!'_ She quickly kicked off her pumps and ran after the duo.

It happened so fast, for a second Catherine was sure that she could finally get a word or a moment of peace with Jackie but what she didn't expect was the blonde to run away from her.

"_...Jackie?" Catherine said as she pushed open the washroom door, she turned her head to the side and found the woman she loves standing beside her friend._

_Catherine saw that there were tears lingering on the actress' eyes and it was redden in comparison to the beginning of the evening, and as she was about to take a step towards the honey blonde, Catherine saw a wave of feelings reflect on Jackie's eyes; there were surprise quickly dissolving into a hint of joy before turning into pain and disappointment. Catherine's chest tightens at the last two, she has to fix this and it has to be now. _

_A wave of golden hair flashes before Catherine's face and as soon as she realized what had happen, the duo was already rushing out of the door and into the crowd of people. Catherine quickly turned her heels and chased behind them._

_At first, she pondered on the thought of whether or not she should save herself some dignity and speed walk instead of running. When she lost sight of her ex-lover, all her restraints left and the only thing remaining in her mind was that she has to find Jackie and everything else can go to hell. _

_Catherine dashes through the party like a madwoman, trying to catch a glimpse of that familiar honey blonde. She finally found Jackie and Ashley rushing towards the main doors and swiftly she tried to catch up._

"Please, listen to me Jackie!" Catherine begs relentlessly, she will not give up now, not when she finally got her head out of her self-loathing.

Abruptly, Jackie stopped in her tracks and paused for a few seconds, Catherine used this time to catch up to the two shorter women.

"And why should I listen to you when you all but told me to go fuck myself when I needed you?" Jackie said in a cold, dead voice as Catherine tried to catch her breath behind her.

"I... Please, let me explain, I didn't mean—," Catherine said breathlessly, she doesn't care if she needs to beg, she will do anything to get Jackie to give her a second... no third chance.

"You didn't mean to what, to call me a whore? To tell me to go screw myself when I called you? To continuously break my heart?!" Jackie's voice started low and threatening before it rose to yelling. Her voice broke and even though she was yelling, it was out of desperation and hatred. Jacqueline whipped her head back to face Catherine. Her face was filled with tears and the once warm and loving blue eyes are now steeled blue.

At the accusations, Catherine didn't know what to say in retaliation, everything that Jackie had stated was true. She looked downwards to the concrete floor, before surveying her surroundings: they were outside in the busy streets of New York, Ashley the redhead was standing beside Jackie, holding her hand in comfort. _'That should've been me...'_ Catherine thought sadly as her eyes fell back to the cold blues.

"I'm sorry Jackie... but—," She apologizes as sincerely as she could; she just needed to explain... _'Explain what? You let your damn insecurities push away the only good thing that's ever happened to you.'_ She rebuked herself harshly.

"But WHAT," Jacqueline screamed at Catherine, "I'll tell you what: nothing. I was finally moving on without you, and I was finally happy. All I wanted was closure, that's why I went back to Bloomington, I wanted to tell you that you made the biggest mistake of your life when you bashed me down and ordered me to leave your house that night." Tears starting to fill up the blue orbs, but Jackie didn't do anything as they streamed down her face, instead she continued.

"I loved you with everything I had, you were everything I ever wanted and I knew how hard it was for you to be with me. I know that you don't like my social group; I only asked you to go to the gathering once!" Jackie said frustrated.

"Granted I didn't specify our relationship status, I didn't do so because I wanted my personal life to be MINE, I wanted you to myself and I don't want the pap to be all over you and I. Was it that much to ask for?

"Did I treat you that badly that you felt the need to go screw a random guy knowing that I will be at your house waiting for you? Was I really that horrible that you need to insult everything you know I care about in front of someone else? TELL ME!" Anger and desperation were all that's left in Jackie's voice, gone with the sadness and disappointment. Jackie shook her head softly, raising a hand to wipe away the now free-flowing tears.

"Leave me alone, Ms. Stark. If you want to fix this, then leave me alone from now on. I'm tired." Jackie said tiredly and softly before pulling Ashley into the limo that was simply a few meters away.

If there was a crowd that gathered to watch the drama while Jacqueline was yelling at her, Catherine wouldn't know or care. When she saw the young blonde turned around and walked away from her, it felt like somebody just ripped everything she has out and stomped on it.

She felt empty and drained; she sank to her knees as she watched the limo drives away into the night lights of New York City.

The murmuring never registered in Catherine's conscious until she felt a hand shaking her shoulder lightly. She turned her head slowly and found her mother bend down beside her.

When her mother wrapped her arms around her to hoist her upwards, Catherine clung onto the safety of her mother's arms.

"Come on sweetie, let us go home." She heard her mother whispered next to her ear while rubbing soothing circles on her back.

Moments later, she felt her mother helping her into the limo before she got in herself. As their personal driver drove the mother and daughter back home, Penny continues to hold Catherine in a tight embrace.

Until the mother and daughter were settled in the comfort of their room, Penny finally asked what had happened outside the gala tonight

"Jackie..." Catherine said softly, as if the name itself is a delicate affair that must be handled with extreme care or else it will break into millions of pieces.

"You might want to start from the beginning, dear. We both know how much contact you have kept over the last half a decade."

For the next two hours, Catherine recounted the story of how she met Jackie to what had happened when she broke the love of her life's heart.

At the end of the story, Catherine's mother simply enveloped her into another hug before smacking Catherine up the head.

"I never knew I raised such a stupid and clueless daughter!" Penny exclaimed as Catherine casted her best glare for hitting her.

"Okay, I deserved that." Catherine rubbed the back of her head as she shifted her eyes towards the window.

"Oh honey," Penny cooed, "There's only one thing left to do." She said determinedly.

"And what would that be, O Wise One?" Catherine mocked her mother's tone.

Penny ignored her daughter's mockery and continued, "Fight for her, of course." Catherine raised an eyebrow at her mother while processing the 'new' information.

**A/N: **I promised that I'd update no matter what this week and I apologize immensely for the lack of update.

University started for me and it's a bitch, since I have another eleven essays to write due by the end of November, I will have to say that the next update will not be written up until late December.

Once again, I'm sorry and I would like to take this time to thank each and every single one of you for the great support!

(I might get some one-shots up and going between here and there but, any major updates on GYCB won't necessarily be up any time soon.)


	6. Chapter 5

It had been a week since the gala, a week since Jackie exploded all her anger onto Catherine. She had regretted that every day. True, Catherine had done nothing but break her heart at every single given opportunity and she had all the rights to blame the older woman for all her pain, but she couldn't. Part of it was her fault; she was the one who walked out without putting up a fight, the one who ran away without so much of a word and she was the one who foolishly thought Catherine would still... love her.

Jackie curled up into a fetal position on her bed, she had been crying for hours and she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed. She wrapped her arms around herself and sinks deeper into her covers.

For the first time since her visit to Bloomington, she realized what a mistake it was to seek closure with Catherine. It was a mistake because she still loves her. Jackie thought that the two years apart would be enough for her to get over the tall blonde, but she was wrong. Her heart aches for Catherine, even through all the drama she still craves for her. A life without Catherine is an empty, loveless life and it's not a life that she wants. Fame, money, reputation, those things can all go to Hell if she can't have love.

Jackie continues to weep quietly, unbeknown Ashley was standing outside of her room, listening to her heart wrenching sobs. Ashley carefully turned the door knob and entered the room silently. As she approaches her best friend's fetal form, she placed her hand on Jackie's head and gently moves Jackie's bangs behind her ear.

"Jacks... It's okay." Ashley climbs onto the bed and spoons Jackie from the back.

Jackie lets herself enveloped into her friend's embrace, she gave her a small nod and turns towards Ashley and cried.

Ashley wrapped her arms around Jacqueline, drawing soothing circles with her palms and hums a quiet tune.

* * *

><p>Catherine stared outside of her new offices' drop down windows. It was a beautiful day, the sky is blue and the sun was shining brightly and yet she can't bring herself to appreciate the view. Her eyes casted down onto the pedestrians, there were different kinds of people walking down the streets: couples, families, business men, beggars and lonely individuals.<p>

'_Lonely_' Catherine sniffed. This was all her fault, perhaps the majority of it was her fault but that doesn't give her the excuse of treating Jackie the way she did.

Catherine willed her hand up, slowly placing it onto of the glass window as if she wanted to reach for something; some_one_.

All the little moments she had with Jackie flashes before her eyes. Ever since Jackie's disappearance, she had forced herself to not think of the young blonde.

She missed all the little things they used to do, sneaking around in the library, holding hands in an empty classroom, or even just the not-so-subtle glances they give each other in the hallway.

She missed it all, but most of all, Catherine missed _her._ Her ray of sunshine, _'And I fucked it up_'.

Catherine turned on her heels and slummed down on her chair, hiding her face into her hands and lets out a groan.

"What am I going to do...?" She spoke softly into the emptiness of her grand office.

* * *

><p>"I hate you!" Jackie cried, "You left <em>me<em>! Not the other way around! What happened to 'I will never want anybody but you,' huh?" She glared upwards to meet the clear blue eyes. She felt a round of tears rushes to her eyes; she quickly tilted her head downwards, not wanting the person to see her tears.

"I loved you... I loved you so much." She croaked, running a hand through her brown hair.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Jackie saw a hand reaching towards her. She quickly flinched away.

"No! You think you can just apologize and everything will be freaking dandy again! But it won't! Not this time, Miranda!" She shouted angrily at an older woman, standing in front of her with a pained expression plastered.

"Okay, cut!" A rough voice called out from a few feet away.

The tension between the older woman and Jackie quickly dissolves.

Gone were the tears as Jackie grinned at her co-star.

"That was great, Jackie." The white-haired woman said warmly as she patted Jackie's shoulder.

"Thanks, Holly!" Jackie's smile brightens another notch.

Ever since she ran off on Catherine, she told her agent to sign her onto the first movie that wanted her. She needed to get away, and the quickest way she knew to do that was work.

For the whole week, she had buried herself into work. Travelling made it easier for her to cope. The exhaustion took Catherine away from her mind.

Everything was fine, until she had to act out the romantic scene; the romantic scene in which her character was completely furious with her ex, a high-profile older woman. To be exact, her character's past employer.

Jacqueline shook away her thoughts. This was hitting too close to home.

'_A whole week..._' she thought, it had been seven freaking days since her encounter with Catherine and yet the older woman had done nothing to reach out for her.

'_So much for saying sorry.'_ She rolled her eyes at herself, mostly for hoping that maybe, just maybe Catherine still wanted her.

"Foolish. That's what you are..." She mumbled under her breath.

"It's never foolish to fall in love, m'dear." A gentle voice came from behind her. She turned around and found her co-star standing a few feet away, holding two cups of coffee.

Holly closed the distance and stood next to the younger blonde, handing a steaming cup to Jackie.

"Holly..." She breathed out softly, nodding her head in thanks as she took the cup of beverage. Jackie smiled, "You're right... Being in love is never foolish, but running away from love... that's foolish." She brought the cup to her lips and took a tentative sip. The coffee was scalding hot; she nearly winced as the liquid made its way down her throat.

Jackie placed the drink on a nearby cart, folding her arms in front of her.

Holly simply hummed in response. "Maybe it's time to stop and turn around."

Jackie stared at the older actress for a minute before nodding apprehensively.

The two women spent the rest of their break standing in silence.

* * *

><p>Catherine had her gaze focused onto her cell phone, as if there was a possibility that the phone will dial Jackie's number on its own.<p>

She had long abandoned her work four hours ago. How was she supposed to work when her mind was completely overwhelmed with the image of her ex-lover? She reached out hesitatingly for her phone. She traced the outline of the gadget with her long fingers. One click was all it takes. She simply had to hit dial, it was easier than adding one and one together. But she couldn't... '_What if she's busy? What if her phone isn't on? What if she doesn't want to talk to me... what if she's with someone else?' _There were simply too many 'what-ifs' to consider.

Catherine frowned at the device. She cannot let the 'what-ifs' take over her life, she won't let it. With a new-found courage, she unlocked her phone and dialled Jackie's number.

As soon as the dialing tone began, her so-call courage had dissipated completely.

'_Oh God... please pick up, Jackie... Please pick up...'_ She scrunched her eyes tightly, trying to will her love to pick up the call... to give them a chance to talk it out.

It felt like a century had passed and still, the call was not picked up. Catherine sighed, letting the last flickering flame of hope to die out. _'Of course she wouldn't want to talk to you, you fool!'_

As she was about to end the call, the dial tone was gone and in its place, a gentle voice spoke.

"Catherine...?"


End file.
